Electric-lamp manipulator



Jan. 10, 1928.

C. H. WATKINS ELECTRIC LAMP MANIPULATOR Fi ed 09 1-,

Patented Jan. 10, 1923.

UNITED 'srarss PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTRIC-LAMP MANIPll'llldlllllllit.

Application .filed October 14, 1926.

. Thisinvention relates to improvements in electric lamp manipulators ofthat. type especially designed. for connecting electric light bulbs to or disconnecting the saline it from ceiling and wall fixtures, and particularly to a. device of this character having a vacuum cup gripper toeng'age the bulb.

One object of niyinvention is to provide a manipulator of this character Which. is simple ofconstruction. reliable and etlicient in action, and which permits of the exhaust ot air and formation of a vacuum. in the vacuum line by mouth suction on the part of the operator, thereby admitting of the use m ct pumps or other inconvenient mechanical exhausting devices to be dispensed with.

A :Eurther object otthe invention is to provide a device of this character which may he made of coinparatively great length. tor reaching light fixtures located at high levels and which nevertheless will mgr-mate i-itlicientlv under mouth suction.

ilrstill further object of the invention is toprovide a lamp manipulator in \vhichthe vacuum cup is especially designed and adapted for grip tiing the ditl'erentcommercial sizes of bulbs Within Wide limits.

yi-r still further object of the. invention is to provide a manipulator which n'iay be easily and conveniently varied in length :tor the purpose of applying or removing bulbs located at ditlercnt elevations.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a manipulator having a main suction or exhaust device locatedat or near its lowersor manipulating GllCl,;t\11d an auxiliary suction or exhaust device located in more or loss close proximity to the vacuum cup end Oil the device, the mainexhaust OL' SUClJ-lOD .devicerbeing adapted for use :tor gripping andiremoving bulbs located at anhelevation and the auriliarysuctiou or exhaust device beingqn' ovided for convenience in. forming avacuuin Within a minimum period oil time torwgripping a bulb which is to beclevatcd and applied to a light fixture.

uh. still further object of the invention is 1 to p rovide a manipulator which will permit bulbs suspended from a flexiblelight cord or chain to be gripped and removed or apiplied with facility.

3 The inventionconsists t theteatures. 0t construction, combination and arrangement oil? parts, hereinafter fully described. and

all

Serial rte. 141,556.

claimed, reference being bad to the accom panving chaiving in Wliifihk- Figure l is a sectional View through. a bulb manipulator cknistructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a view 0t an extension stein section.

llligure is a. view showing); the gripping action oi. the vacuum cup in eri iipiho bulbs 0f Sll]HllG1 size. V J

Figure 4t: is a view showing in full and dotted lines the gripping action of the vacuuln cup in rri iipingg bulbs oi, larger sizes.

lncarrying my invention into practice I provide a bulb manipulating device or tool col'uprising a stem 1 ct holloiv tubing which is preferably continuous and oi? anv suitablc length. Tl sstem carries at its upper end a vacuum grappling cup E2. which itself ojenorally conical term and suitablv secured, in

an air-tight manner. at its reducedv end to the. upper end of the stem 1. lhis cup is made of rubber of a suitable degree of: flea:- il'iility or pliabilitv. tor expanding and contractii ig actions and is niovidcd with a. bulb receiving cavity of generally conical. :torm. At the upper, widened or month end of this cavity the cup 2 is providi-id with. an inturned. portion or gripping things 4-, and at a point Within. the cavity and, between this flange 41 and the reduced base of thecavitv the cup is provided with a convex auxiliary gripping things or head The size and.

elasticity o3]. the bulb is such that-it will expand. at its mouth end to receive and grip a bulb of the largest ordinary commercial size, say 250 WEil'l'S. and the mouth portion isexpansible and contractible to such degree as to receive and grip bulbs oi? ditlerent sizes varying from the 7'?) watt size to the 250 Watt size. Figure lshows in full and dotted lines the grippingaction ot' the flange l on bulbs oil the minimum and maximum larger vs above set torth. The lower por tion cit the cup provided with the head or flange 5 of such site and capable/ ot a degree oi. expansion and contraction to re ceive bulbs oil a smaller ime range, for (no ample. troni to (it) Watts size, the grim ping action on a bulb oi one of these sizes being; sl'iorvii in Figure Ll, so that by the use of a vacuum cup of a tired size a. wide range of sizes o'l bulbs may hereceived and ma nipulated, thus avoiding; the necessity of Ell using different implements or different sized cups for the purpose.

The stem 1 is provided at its lower end with a handle or manipulating section 6 comprising a connecting tube 7 carried by one of the arms 8 of a four-armed or fourway union or coupling member 9, the diametrically disposed arm 10 of which has fitted therein a nipple 11 provided with a cut off valve or cock 12 and a groove or serrated stem 13, which latter receives a fitting M upon one end of a rubber or other flexible exhaust or suction tube 15 provided at its free end witlra mouth-piece 1G. The laterally extending arms 17 and 18 of the union or couplin 9 have fitted therein shortrods or bars 19 forming handles whereby the tool may be manipulated.

The'connecting tube 7 may be, if desired. continuous with the stem 1, in which event the lower end of the stem may be permanently fitted in the coupler arm 8, which construction is desirable in the manufacture of a tool of fixed length or of certain lengths within limited ranges, and in which the tool is not designed to be varied as to length for greater convenience in manipulating it and reaching lamps disposed at different elevations. In the present instance, however, the construction is such as to permit of the use between the main stem 1 and the connecting tube 7 of any desired member of extension stem sections 20, such as shown, for example, in Figure 2. To this end, the lower end of the stem 1 has formed thereon or applied thereto one member 21 of a pipe coupling or union, the other member 22 of which is formed upon or carried by the tube 7 said members being connected by a coupling nut 23 and having disposed between their opposed edges a sealing gasket 23. Assuming that the device asshown in Figure 1, in which the handlesection and suction element'15 are coupled directly to the main stem 1, and provide a tool of any given length, say ten, fifteen, twenty or more feet, and it is desired to extend or increase its length for the purpose of reaching fixtures arranged at a higher elevation, then the stem 1 and tube 7 may be disconnected and one or more extension tube sections. such as 20, may be applied between the same and coupled to the tubes 1 and 7 and to each other, according to the number of sections employed, by means of couplings of the charac ter described. By the use of extension stem sections of this character the length of the tool may be varied within any limit convement foroperation.

In the use of the device for removing a bulb from an elevated fixture, the tool is raised so as to cause the bulb to be properly received inthe chamber 3 of the vacuum cup 2 and gripped by the proper gripping surface according to its size. The valve or cock 12, if not open, is then opened and the mouth piece 16 placed in the mouth of the operattn', who whereupon exerts a mouth suction action to extract the air from the suction line formed by the tubular conduit between said. mouth piece and the cap, thereby forming a vacuum in the cup and causing the cup to tightly gripthe bulb, whereupon the cook 12 is Closed to maintain the vacuum and the tool then manipulated or rotated by means of its handles 19 to detach the bulb from its socket. The tool is then lowered, and the cock 12 opened to relieve the vacuum, whereupon the bulb may be conveniently extracted from the cup. In applying a bulb to a fixture, the bulb to be applied is titted in the cup, a vacuum produced in the manner above described so as to hold it gripped, the cock 12 closed to maintain the vacuum, and the tool then elevated and rotated to screw the bulb into the intended socket. By the use of a mouth suction device of the character shown, it has been found that a partial vacuum of a suiliciently high degree to grip a. bulb may be easily formed in the vacuum cup and vacuum line, even when the tool is of some considerable length, either by a Single suction action or a series of suc tion actions. between which suction actions the rock 12 may be closed to maintain the degree of vacuum induced on cach suction action. The use of such a suction device enables the operator to apply both hands to the handles 19 in handling the tool which affords greater convenience and is ol'ttimes necessary where the tool is of any considerable length. The tool as thus constructed possesses manifold conveniences and advantages over tools employing mechanical cxhaust or suction devices requiring the operator to employ one hand in their actiuition, and making it dillicnlt and impossible in many cases for him to hold a long tool in a single band while this exhaust action is being performed.

For the purpose of affording great convenience of applying to the cup and gripping therein a bulb which is to be applied to a socket, I provide the tool with an auxil iary suction or exhaustdevice located at some point between the tool handle and the vacuum cup 2 and preferably in more or less close proximity to the latter. This auxiliary suction device comprises a flexible tube 26 having at one end a mouth piece 27 and fitted at its opposite end upon a nipple 28 communicating with the stem 1, which nipplc is provided with a valve or cock 29 similar to and having the same function as the valve or cock 12. The use of this auxiliary suction device in proximity to the cup, allows the operator to it a bulb within the cup and then, by the use of the suction device, to create a sufiicient vacuum in the suction line to hold the bulb gripped in the Ill) lll

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cup, so as to avoid the necessity of the oper ator walking a distance to the handle end of the tool for the purpose of using the sue-- tion device for the purpose described. This reduces time and labor and possibility oil a bulb falling out and becoming damaged where the stem is 01 some considerable length. It desired, in order that the vacuum producing action of the auxiliary suction device may be accentuated, a cut off valve may be placed in the stem 1 adjacent to the nipple 29 and between the same and the handle end of the stem, which valve may be closed for the purpose of reducing that part oi? the suction line from which the air is to be exhausted. It will, of course, be understood that when the main suction device 15 is used, the cook 29 is closed, and when the auxiliary suction device 26 is used, the cock 12 is closed. After a bulb is fitted into the cup 2 for application to a fixture, cocks 12 and 29 are kept closed while the tool is raised to apply the bulb and if, during the bulb applying action, the suction grip on the bulb is not sufficient, a greater grip 'iing action may be obtained by further exhaust oil air through the action of the suction device 15.

l have found that with this device sufficient suction may be created to draw a bulb very tightly down into the vacuum cup 2. This allows a bulb to be held tight after it has been preliminarily inserted within the socket of a tlexible suspension cord or chain, or atter it has been gripped for release there lrom, so that the cord or chain may be drawn taut while the bulb is being fully ap plied or removed, a tactor of great importance in applying bulbs to or removing them :lirom a fixture oi this character.

lll'Ol'I]. the foregoing description, taken in connection. with the drawing, the construction, mode of operation and advantages of my improved bulb manipulator will be read ily understood without a further and extended description. While the construction shown is preferred, it is, of course, to be understood that many changes in the form, proportion and arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim l. A bulb manipulator comprising tubular stem, a vacuum gripping cup at one end of the stem, a manipulating handle at the oppositelend oi' the stem, and a. suction device carried by the handle and communicating therethrough with the stem, said handle and suction device being detachably connected with the stem so as to admit of extension stem sections being applied between the stem and handle.

2. A bulb manipulator comprising a tubular stem, a vacuum gripping cup at one end of the stem, a suction device communicating with the stem at or near the opposite end of the stem, and a suction device co1nmunicating with the stem at a point between the first-named suction device and the vacuum gripping cup and in proximity to the latter.

8VA bulb manipulator comprising a tubular stem, a vacuum cup at one end of the stern, a handle at the opposite end of the stem, and suction devices con'nnunicating with the stem and arranged, respectively, in proximity to the handle and the cup.

l. A bulb manipulator comprising a tubular stem, a suction device connected therewith, and a vacuum gripping cup carried by the stem and consisting of an elastic body provided with spaced gripping ribs of different diameters.

5. A bulb manipulator comprising a bulb gripping vacuum cup having formed upon its inner wall integral gripping ribs of different diameters, and means for rareiying the air in said cup.

6. A bulb manipulator comprising a bulb gripping vacuum cup having internal grip ping ribs located at its free edge and medially of the depth of its chamber, and means for manipulating said cup and for rarefying the air therein.

In testimony whereof I aflii: my signature.

CLEMENT wirritius 

